Chapter 4
In the morning, the sun arrived as promised, the top of the mountain was covered with a layer of golden gauze, and the crowing of roosters rose and fell.
"Little sister, get up." Qingdai was not used to calling Lu Ling like that.
Lu Ling went to bed late last night and was tired after a long day, so he was sleepy.
Hearing Qingdai calling "Sister" again and again, Lu Ling finally woke up from sleepiness, turned over and got up with a smile on his face.
Most of the people in the tent had left, leaving only Lu Ling and Qing Dai.
"Sister, you're finally awake. Hurry up and get up. I just heard Granny Fang scolding someone outside. She might come in soon.
Speak of the devil, and here he comes. Just as Qingdai finished her words, an old woman's voice was heard outside the tent.
"Which young lady hasn't woken up yet? How can she sleep so soundly?" The voice was neither loud nor soft, so that Lu Ling and Qingdai could hear it.
Lu Ling hurriedly put on his clothes and walked out of the tent with Qingdai.
"Sorry, I got up late." Lu Ling lowered his head and said to the person in front of him.
The old woman glared at Lu Ling and Qing Dai. "You still remember to get up? It's already noon, and you still think this is the capital?"
"Yes, we were wrong. Let's get to work right away." Qingdai replied quickly, and then pulled Lu Ling away.
"Wait!" The old woman rolled up her sleeves and pointed to a tent in the distance. "You two and Zhang Xunwen will be responsible for today's lunch."
"Okay." After Lu Ling said that, he and Qingdai walked into the kitchen.
This is the kitchen tent, which is more than twice as big as the tent where Lu Ling and the others sleep at night.
As soon as Qingdai entered the tent, she was shocked by the scene in front of her. "A kitchen is actually better than our tent."
"Don't you see who you are? How big a tent does a slave need to live in?" A crisp voice sounded beside him.
The man had a fair face, a high nose, thin lips, and a pair of bright, twinkling eyes. He looked like he had just tied his hair.
"Are you Zhang Xunwen?" Qingdai asked.
"My name remains unchanged, and my surname remains unchanged. It's Zhang Xunwen." Zhang Xunwen said as he raised his head, still holding the spatula in his hand.
Lu Ling found it funny and curled his lips.
"Why are there only two of you? Is that old lady Fang so stingy?" Zhang Xunwen seemed to have expected this. He just said this and went back to the pot to cook.
Qingdai opened her eyes wide and asked in confusion, "What? You mean the three of us are responsible for today's meal?"
"What else? Do you still want to rely on the old woman to send someone to us?" Zhang Xunwen said in a normal tone.
It seems this isn't the first time this has happened.
"What do you need us to do?" Lu Ling, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked.
Zhang Xunwen looked around and his eyes finally fell on a pot of green vegetables.
"Here, you two should wash this basin of food first."
Lu Ling looked at the pot of vegetables piled as high as a person and swallowed unconsciously.
Lu Ling and Qing Dai started washing vegetables in the tent. It was not that they didn't want to go to the river to wash them, but because they couldn't move the basin of vegetables. The vegetables were piled high and would fall over if touched casually.
Finally, Zhang Xunwen couldn't bear it anymore and told the two of them that they could wash inside the tent, since there was everything inside. So the two of them squatted beside it and started washing the vegetable leaves.
"There are three of us and we have to cook for more than 3,000 people! This is too unreasonable." Qingdai said angrily.
"It really doesn't make sense, but who told us to offend her?" said Zhang Xunwen.
"We didn't offend her." Lu Ling said.
"It seems that you don't even know that you have offended someone." Zhang Xunwen looked at Lu Ling and smiled.
"Old Mrs. Fang is a jealous person." Zhang Xunwen said to Lu Ling while cooking.
"So what if she's jealous? I'm just a slave now, what can she be jealous of?" Lu Ling wondered.
Lu Ling was washing vegetables and tore the leaves into several pieces without knowing when.
"Maybe I'm jealous of your previous life, right?"
Lu Ling remained silent. She did not deny that her parents used to love each other and her family was happy, but everything was gone overnight. Lu Ling had no relatives around her.
"Why is Fang Qianqian able to be the logistics manager? I don't think she has the talent to be a manager."
"There wasn't a logistics manager before, but after a few incidents where soldiers were running low on clothing and food, General Xie decided to create a logistics manager position. Because there were so many things to manage, no one wanted the position, and General Xie searched for a long time without success. Finally, Old Lady Fang recommended herself."
Zhang Xunwen sighed and whispered, "If the general hadn't disliked my age, I would have definitely become the steward."
"General, can't you designate someone?" Lu Ling asked.
Zhang Xunwen took a plate and put it aside, then took the dish out of the pot.
"The general doesn't want to force his subordinates to do things they don't want to do." Zhang Xunwen put the dish aside and covered it with a lid.
On the other side, Lu Ling and Qing Dai had only washed one-third of the vegetables. "No wonder General Xie is so convincing."
Zhang Xunwen glanced at Lu Ling and Qing Dai, and when he saw the dishes in the basin, he almost rolled his eyes and cursed, "Can you guys wash faster? Do you think you are giving a baby a bath?"
"And you, why did you tear the vegetable leaves into several pieces? You are indeed a young lady who can't do anything!" Zhang Xunwen snatched the vegetable leaves from Lu Ling's hand and said angrily.
Qingdai put her hands on her hips and cursed back, "Can you please speak properly? Why are you always cursing at me?"
"I can't explain it to you clearly." Zhang Xunwen waved his hand, put the leaves back into the basin, and walked back to the stove to continue preparing to cook.
"You two should wash up quickly, before everyone in the barracks goes hungry with you."
"It's not just this one dish." Qingdai murmured.
"You! Ignorant!"
"You..." Qingdai wanted to stand up and continue scolding Zhang Xunwen, but Lu Ling, who had sharp eyes, pulled Qingdai back.
"Hurry up and wash it, or we'll be left with nothing to eat."
Perhaps Zhang Xunwen was already accustomed to this situation, and the three of them hurriedly prepared the meal.
Zhang Xunwen was indeed used to having fewer people around. He was a good cook and could cook three pots at the same time. Moreover, he had prepared some of the dishes the day before, so he could serve them very quickly.
Eating in the military camp is different from eating at home. The prepared meals in the camp are placed in basins and the soldiers line up to receive them.
When all the food made by Zhang Xunwen was taken out, Lu Ling glanced and saw that the table opposite was also full of dishes.
"Why are there some on the opposite side too? Those dishes don't look like they were made by you." Lu Ling turned around and asked Zhang Xunwen.
"If I tell you that I cook for everyone in the barracks, do you really believe me?"
Lu Ling nodded. "I didn't believe it at first, but after seeing you hold three spoons by yourself, I believe it."
"Naive!" Zhang Xunwen left with only this sentence and went to get his meal.
When Lu Ling and the other two finished, they were so hungry that they felt dizzy. They sat on the rocks and ate the cold food.
"We were responsible for cooking, but we were the last to eat." Qingdai said dissatisfiedly.
"Can you please be considerate of the soldiers? They risk their lives to defend their country. Shouldn't you let them eat first?" Zhang Xunwen stopped eating and retorted.
The place where Lu Ling and the others were sitting was right in front of the camp for the wounded. Outside the tents, there were people with missing limbs and some with bandaged heads.
I wonder what these people’s parents would think if they saw this.
"How can I not be understanding? If you are understanding, you should go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. Why do you, a strong and healthy person, hide in the kitchen and be willing to be a cook?" Qingdai was not convinced and started arguing with Zhang Xunwen.
Zhang Xunwen stood up in shame and anger, and the bowl in his hand fell to the ground, spilling all the food inside.
He clenched his fists, veins bulged, his face turned pale, he glared at Qingdai and left.
"I'm not wrong, why are you so angry?" Qingdai said unhappily.
Lu Ling pulled Qingdai aside and urged her, "Hurry up and eat. You don't know what kind of work you'll have to do later."
The two of them sat on the stone and silently ate the food in their bowls.
After a while, an old woman wearing coarse linen and with her hair tied back with a hairpin came over. She looked neat and tidy.
"Why haven't you finished eating yet? Don't you know you still have to work?" The old woman cursed. "Why? Or do you not want to work anymore?"
Lu Ling stared at the woman in front of him, his eyes attracted by her ears. The hole in her left ear had been sealed because she hadn't worn earrings for a long time, and there was a big cut on her right ear, as if the earring had been torn off roughly.
When Lu Ling woke up early in the morning, his eyes were blurry and he didn't even see Fang Qianqian's ears.
"What are you looking at?" The old woman turned her head and covered her right ear.
Lu Ling put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hand, shook his head, and said with a smile: "I just think the hairpin on Granny Fang's head is very beautiful. Granny, please keep a close eye on it and don't let others steal it."
Fang Qianqian, who had been arrogant before, changed her usual demeanor and revealed a proud and proud look. She raised her hand and touched the hairpin on her head while saying, "Of course, this is made of the finest sandalwood. How can it be compared with ordinary hairpins?"
"I wonder who dares to steal it." Fang Qianqian said and glared at Lu Ling.
Fang Qianqian turned around and went back halfway, "You two, continue to work with Zhang Xunwen in the afternoon."
After saying that, Fang Qianqian walked away with a bright smile.
"What's she doing? She's still wagging her tail at such an old age." Qingdai looked at Fang Qianqian who was walking away and shook her body.
"Let's go and help Zhang Xunwen." Lu Ling wanted to pull Qingdai into the kitchen, but found that the people around him couldn't pull her at all.
"I didn't say anything wrong just now. Why is he so angry and even threw the bowl away?" Qingdai asked Lu Ling.
Lu Ling didn't answer for a long time. Finally, he was so angry that he pointed at Qingdai's head with his index finger.
"Why haven't you learned any of your elder sister's wisdom?" Lu Ling sighed.
"Have you ever thought about why Zhang Xunwen only stayed in the kitchen?"
Qingdai shook her head.
"Then have you ever thought about why Zhang Xunwen got angry and left after hearing what you said?"
Qingdai shook her head again.
"You, why didn't I realize you were so stupid before? You really have a pig's brain."
"Sister, don't laugh at me. I just don't understand why this happened." Qingdai pouted and looked aggrieved.
Lu Ling leaned closer to Qingdai and said something in a low voice. After he finished speaking, Qingdai's expression changed.
He looked shocked and frightened, with no trace of good color on his face.
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